Smart apps that help you keep your restaurant’s door [still] open for customers

Closing the door of your restaurant was a harsh decision. But also a wise one. While you knew that the safety of the people is above everything, you’re still wondering what it is going to happen with your business. After all, “no customers” means “no business”, right?

There is a clear delineation between you are not the only one and you are not alone in that. While the first statement confirms that it is not in your power to control the context, the second one comforts you with the idea that there is still a silver lining that you can rely on at some point

And, after only 5 minutes of watching the news on TV or scrolling the updates on the website news that you selected as a credible one, you know you are not the only one who’s dealing with tough challenges.

The urgency is clear. And so it’s the impact over your business if you don’t find fast a solution to adapt.

So, what about “you are not alone in that” part?

All you need at this moment is a straightforward answer to the following question:

How to keep your restaurant’s main door closed [for more safety] and yet keep the virtual one open [for sales]

The main solution for closing only the physicals doors is to migrate your restaurant’s activities to virtual space.

Several activities can be done in a performant and efficient manner by using digital solutions:

• Making available your offer through an intuitive and eye-catching website Turning your physical restaurant into a virtual one is an efficient and within reach solution that can assure your business continuity. Choose a reliable IT services provider [preferably one that had already created websites for this industry] to develop a responsive, eye-catching website where your customers can view products and detailed descriptions, similar or complementary products, order, and pay online.
• Receiving orders through multiple channels Even if your customers are used to step in your restaurant and order through a classic interaction, you’ll be surprised to discover that they are more ready to adapt to a new approach than you may expect. By choosing a complete restaurant solution, you’ll get not only a dynamic website but also extended digital tools to easily generate sales [e.g., your staff will receive website orders through multiple channels: mobile app, email, printer, SMS or FAX];
• Managing your clients’ info and keeping them close to further offers It’s not enough to generate sales, you also need returning customers. By using a performant CRM solution, you can manage the information that your customers provide – name, phone number, email address – and use it for remarketing to boost your sales.
• Tracking your restaurant’s performance Once you decide to sell your dishes online, your daily concerns regarding the restaurant’s performance and its positioning on the market also migrate in the virtual space. To have a realistic overview of online performance and positioning, you need built-in SEO functionalities, integration with Google Analytics, and with advanced e-commerce functionalities.
• Improving your business approach based on valuable customer satisfaction insights By using an NFC tag or QR code, you can direct your customers to an online survey, to make it easier for them to give you feedback about their experience.

Let’s get [even more] close to reality:

How did Mansion Pub triple the sales through an all-in-one solution for restaurants and pubs

Mansion Pub is a local restaurant – pub, well-known for over a decade for its great food and drinks, pleasant vibe and excellent service. The restaurant owners decided a while ago that they want to get their business to the next level by selling their dishes online.

They wanted to reach out to more customers, be able to improve preparation and delivery times, to enhance their customers’ on-site experience and make it easier to collect and use feedback from their customers.

For accomplishing these objectives, they entrusted us to develop a sales-driven online solution that included: a responsive website, SEO-oriented functionalities, an application that receive the orders and direct them to the kitchen, a mobile application that sends real-time push notifications, a CRM solution for registering orders, NFC tags and QR codes that can be used by customers to access an online survey or access the menu on the website.

The results after implementing this custom solution were beyond expectations: Mansion Pub is now selling over 300% more through online and phone orders.

We are not saying that you’ll get the same results [but you can be still prepared for that]. But, what we know for sure is that your business will get real chances to sell online and keep staying in touch with its customers.